From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi

What causes electoral violence in postconflict countries? The theoretical literature emphasizes the potential role of (1) ethnic grievances, (2) political competition, and (3) specialists in violence. Our study is the first to test these three hypotheses simultaneously. Using a unique data set on el...

ver descrição completa

Detalhes bibliográficos
Main Authors: Colombo, A, D’Aoust, O, Sterck, O
Formato: Journal article
Publicado em: University of Chicago Press 2019
_version_ 1826284463586279424
author Colombo, A
D’Aoust, O
Sterck, O
author_facet Colombo, A
D’Aoust, O
Sterck, O
author_sort Colombo, A
collection OXFORD
description What causes electoral violence in postconflict countries? The theoretical literature emphasizes the potential role of (1) ethnic grievances, (2) political competition, and (3) specialists in violence. Our study is the first to test these three hypotheses simultaneously. Using a unique data set on electoral violence in Burundi, we study variations in the intensity of electoral violence between neighboring municipalities, relying on the fact that these are more likely to have similar unobservable characteristics. Interestingly, we find that electoral violence did not result from ethnic grievances, which goes against the commonly held view that this factor necessarily plays a key role in violence in the region. Rather, we show that electoral violence is higher in municipalities characterized by acute polarization between demobilized rebel groups, fierce political competition, and a high proportion of Hutu. The effect of political competition is stronger in the presence of numerous demobilized rebels.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T01:14:12Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:8e16f35c-f628-4c86-b3fa-09939f415e4f
institution University of Oxford
last_indexed 2024-03-07T01:14:12Z
publishDate 2019
publisher University of Chicago Press
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:8e16f35c-f628-4c86-b3fa-09939f415e4f2022-03-26T22:55:19ZFrom rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from BurundiJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:8e16f35c-f628-4c86-b3fa-09939f415e4fSymplectic Elements at OxfordUniversity of Chicago Press2019Colombo, AD’Aoust, OSterck, OWhat causes electoral violence in postconflict countries? The theoretical literature emphasizes the potential role of (1) ethnic grievances, (2) political competition, and (3) specialists in violence. Our study is the first to test these three hypotheses simultaneously. Using a unique data set on electoral violence in Burundi, we study variations in the intensity of electoral violence between neighboring municipalities, relying on the fact that these are more likely to have similar unobservable characteristics. Interestingly, we find that electoral violence did not result from ethnic grievances, which goes against the commonly held view that this factor necessarily plays a key role in violence in the region. Rather, we show that electoral violence is higher in municipalities characterized by acute polarization between demobilized rebel groups, fierce political competition, and a high proportion of Hutu. The effect of political competition is stronger in the presence of numerous demobilized rebels.
spellingShingle Colombo, A
D’Aoust, O
Sterck, O
From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title_full From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title_fullStr From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title_full_unstemmed From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title_short From rebellion to electoral violence: evidence from Burundi
title_sort from rebellion to electoral violence evidence from burundi
work_keys_str_mv AT colomboa fromrebelliontoelectoralviolenceevidencefromburundi
AT daousto fromrebelliontoelectoralviolenceevidencefromburundi
AT stercko fromrebelliontoelectoralviolenceevidencefromburundi